If your child can vote, drive a car, or legally drink a beer — you best believe that they can also pay rent. But despite the painfully apparent logic, most parents wouldn’t dream of asking their children to contribute.
Even if they do, many are left feeling like the worst parents on the face of the planet. This is precisely what happened to this single mother after she asked her 17-year-old daughter to pay rent.
Earlier this month, a mumsnet.com user who goes by the handle Icanflyhigh wrote a post detailing her home situation with her daughter.
She began by explaining how her daughter is due to turn 17-years-old at the end of October. The mother also mentioned that her daughter had just begun an apprenticeship program wherein she would be making £14.5K per year (roughly $20,000 USD).
“Apart from buying herself lunch each day (which she doesn’t HAVE to do as there is food available to take from home) she has no other outgoings,” the mother explained.
Since her daughter was now a contributing member of society, the mother thought it only fair that she begin acting like one.
“I have asked her to contribute £50 per week to the household,” she began. “For that, she will have all food provided, washing done, all the hot water she can use, lifts to wherever she wants, pretty much whenever she wants them, a lift to and from work each day (we don’t live on a bus route) and other usual stuff.”
The mother tried to explain her plan to her daughter and it didn’t go over well.
The daughter was shocked to hear that her 17-year-long free ride was suddenly coming to a grinding halt. “Well, she’s made me feel like the worst mother in the world for asking,” the dejected mom lamented.
In the UK, child benefit payments stop at the age of 17. The mother also explained that the girl’s father would likely cease his child support payments as well — not that they did much, to begin with.
On top of everything else, the mother also asked her daughter to start paying her own cell phone bill.
“She had a brand new iPhone X in July on the premise that she would pay the bill,” the mother reasoned. Yet according to her post, the daughter has yet to put one penny toward her outstanding bill.
To make a bad situation even worse, the phone is in the mother’s name. This means if it isn’t paid on time, it will be her credit that’s affected — not her daughter’s.
It might seem like a steep ask, but the mother says that it’s all to help benefit her daughter in the end.
Think of it as less like paying rent and more like investing in the future. “The board I have asked her for will be put straight towards her driving lessons ,” the mother said.
She’s also already bought her daughter a beginner’s license permit and has even promised her a car as well on the day that she completes her road test. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.
Unfortunately, her daughter still doesn’t see it this way. Which is why the mother sought the advice of mothers like herself to see whether or not she was being unreasonable.
“In these circumstances no you’re not and I’m all for supporting young adult children at home,” writes KingdomScrolls. “I don’t believe the whole charge them rent as soon as they are working. Essentially you’re asking her to pay her own phone bill and pay for her own driving lessons, that’s really not unreasonable.”
Most mothers seemed to be echoing the same statement but others took things even further.
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“If she doesn’t pay don’t cook for her, don’t allow her access to laundry detergent.”
The basic premise of the argument is that if the daughter doesn’t appreciate all of the things she’s getting for free (like rides, food, and a roof over her head) she can gladly decide to be an adult and pay for them herself.
Where do you stand: is 17-years-old too young to be paying rent? Should all kids contribute once they enter the work world? Leave a comment and let us know!
